BSEM evaluation of carbonate diagenesis: Benthic foraminifera from the Miocene Pungo River Formation, North Carolina

Backscatter scanning electron microscopy (BSEM) was used to evaluate microdiagenesis in biogenic carbonates of the Pungo River Formation, a phosphate-bearing, Miocene, continental shelf deposit in North Carolina. Results of this new high-resolution technique correlate well to the downsection δ 18 O variation of three species of benthic foraminifera. This technique is useful in the evaluation of diagenesis prior to isotopic analysis for paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic purposes.